This blog is a place for wives, girlfriends, significant others, and anyone else stuck to a chef to come together and chirp to each other about how to deal with the nonsense that goes along with being the wife of a chef. I was struggling to live with a ghost of a husband who I never saw until I met two other chefs' wives that saved me. It was then that I realized there must be more who need love and support too, right?
Hilary, First Lady Desperate Chefs'Wives
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

To Please the Chef

We all know how most people react when you tell them you are married to a chef. We usually get one, two or all three of the following responses:

1. Wow, you are so lucky; he must cook for you every night.

2. I bet you eat like a queen all the time.

3. But you're so thin.

I LOVE being married to a chef. I love that it's the perfect challenge for my marriage to keep things exciting, yet manageable. But there is a false idea out there of what it's really like. I've also found that other people seem to be nervous cooking for my chef. Non-chefs seem to think that anything below a four star level of food is disgusting in my chefs eyes. Little do they know that Erik loves burgers, fries, pizza, burritos and frozen food.

My step mom is a typical Midwestern mom who cooks three meals a day. She's a great cook too, making delicious meals complete with bread and butter, meat, potatoes, veggies and dessert. And she was scared to cook for Erik. Come on. If anyone should be scared to cook for my chef it should be me! I can't make a meal to save my life and Erik isn't afraid to say when I've goofed a meal. But I don't worry because he would never expect high level cooking from me or anyone else who's not wearing whites. So all you non-chefs out there: Don't worry cooking for a chef; they are much easier to please than you think.

Well, my chefhusband is the chef most of the time at home (he is the chef designated to cook, oficially :-))..But, sometimes when I start to cook for him and he is near the kitchen...he start to give me instrutions on how should I cook (or the correct way to cook)...Finally, he finish cooking, jejej

SO TRUE! (Except I don't get #3 that often. I can blame it on having kids, but nah, it's a testament to the fact that a.) husband is a DARN good chef, and b.) he's gone 6 nights a week and I usually am too lazy to cook for myself!)

And also, I can so relate with the commenters. I actually really enjoy cooking, but I get forced out of the kitchen when my chef has a night off... or I leave of my own volition, because it gets a little exasperating trying to chop veggies with someone peering over your shoulder and offering feedback on my knife skills... or making pained faces. :)

Seriously, this was the best! I get all three of the above responses and it's so far from reality:

1. He rarely cooks for me at home, and it's not even plausible that my chef could cook for me every night. He isn't even home until 10-12pm and even if I did stay up that late for my chef cooked meal..he's too tired after cooking for 200-300 people.

2. I can't cook. I manage to feed myself but it's nothing suited for a queen.

3. I'm vegetarian. This kills people when they know that I have a chef husband.

When I do cook and my chef is around...he's always pained by my lack of knife skills and my famed ability to scorch, burn and char every stainless steel pan we own!

What I love most though about people's perception of living with a chef...when I've tried to explain what life is really like with a chef it seems like they don't really want to know the truth (ie..we eat frozen burritos and canned tomato sauce on pasta). I guess the fantasy of eating like a queen with my chef is more important!

I get asked those all the time too! (and I model so people seem to find the pairing of a model and a chef sooo funny). Little do they know that my boyfriend is so tired once he gets home that the last thing he wants to do is cook himself dinner. So I started doing it. It was a little intimidating at first but he gets so excited at the idea of someone else cooking for him that I feel pretty comfortable busting out a meal in from of him ;)

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